Through this column, the Tribune wishes to apologize to DPWH District Engineer Edy Ferdinand Joven, who was reported in a Facebook report that he had already traveled to the mainland last Wednesday and, thus, was not able to attend the pre-disaster meeting of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Thursday morning, Oct. 27.
The truth was that, at the time, DE Joven was at the CatSU Auditorium to watch Cong. Eulogio Rodriguez render his First 100-Days Report on his accomplishments.
Also present were the assistant district engineers and section chiefs, whom he required to attend. That is why, there was nobody to represent the DPWH and brief the disaster council headed by Gov. Joseph Cua on preparations being taken at the time for the passage of the storm.
On the same day, CatSU Pres. Patrick Alain Azanza also issued a memorandum requiring the attendance of top officials and college deans in the Rodriguez event.
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On Friday morning, Oct. 28, Virac Mayor Sammy Laynes was in a light mood as he briefed members of the local media on the LGU’s preparations for the oncoming cyclone.
Near the end, he jokingly warned constituents to be careful about the use of candles that could cause unlikely fires during the storm.
His words proved prophetic as two fire incidents were reported a minute apart in the early morning of Oct. 29, about two hours after Paeng passed close by.
Less than three minutes after leaving the Virac Fire Station, the firetruck responding to the Fiat Village blaze was about to pass in front of the Virac Water District when it noticed smoke coming from a parked tricycle inside the compound and close to the building.
It immediately stopped to put out the fire, which burned the front portion of the VIWAD service tricycle.
At the same time, the MDRRMO personnel were just coming out of the Community Hub area when it saw the firetruck at VIWAD and thought it had overheated due to the white smoke. It, too, stopped beside it.
Surely, the VIWAD fire delayed the response to the more urgent incident at Fiat Village for several minutes.
Investigation is still being conducted regarding the cause of the fire that hit the parked tricycle and the Caritas office building. Both occurred during the preventive power outage.
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PBBM was reported asking the country’s disaster officials about the high death toll from storm Paeng.
“Bakit nagkaganyan? Bakit hindi sila naagapan ma-evacuate?”
He should address the question and his frustration at local government units in the affected areas.
As early as the Tropical Cyclone Bulletin No. 4, issued on Oct. 27 at 5 AM, PAGASA had already warned about possibly light to moderate with at times heavy rains over MIMAROPA, BARMM, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, the Visayas and other areas by morning of Oct. 28.
If there is any fault to be found, it will be among the local chief executives of the flood-and-landslide-hit areas as they most likely failed to warn their constituents about the impending calamity.
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AN IDIOT IS STUNG BY A BEE. A man comes running to the doctor shouting and screaming in pain. “Please, doctor, you’ve got to help me. I’ve been stung by a bee.”
“Don’t worry;” says the doctor, “I’ll put some cream on it.”
“You will never find that bee. It must be miles away by now.”
“No, you don’t understand!” answers the doctor, “I’ll put some cream on the place you were stung.”
“Oh! It happened in the garden in back of my house.”
“No, no, no!” says the doctor getting frustrated, “I mean on which part of your body did that bee sting you.” “On my finger!” screamed the man in pain. “The bee stung me on my finger and it really hurts.”
“Which one?” the doctor.
“How am I supposed to know? All the bees look the same to me!”